With regard to financial support for the ministries of CGS; we all go the first mile together with each of us pledging yearly an increasing portion of our income to our operating budget as we all work toward 10% or a tithe of our income. (Or beyond for some!) This is the underlying support for all our ministries.

But we recognize that each of us has particular ministries that capture our hearts! 2nd Mile Giving allows people the opportunity to give to ministries in the operating budget “over and above” their first mile pledge, for the ministries to which they feel particularly called.

By targeting a few different ministries during the year, 2nd Mile Giving gives church leadership the opportunity to educate folks about particular ministry areas and the real costs associated with those ministries.

And finally, (and this is important!) with 2nd Mile Giving, not everybody gives to everything!! In fact, if you hear about, or are presented with a 2nd mile giving opportunity and find yourself saying, “Oh NO, I have to give.” Then don’t! Wait instead for when you can go the second mile with JOY to support a ministry that has captured your heart. We know its out there!

Listed below you will find some of the organizations that we went the Second Mile for.

In the month of January, our second mile offerings will be divided among the Sierra Pacific Synod’s companion synods: the Lutheran Church of Rwanda, the Lutheran Synod of El Salvador and the Taiwan Lutheran Church. Please keep these churches around the world in your payers this month and consider an additional offering toward their ministries. The Sierra Pacific Synod is blessed to accompany these churches in mutual ministry as we proclaim God’s creative, redeeming and sanctifying activity in all the world.

Your 2nd Mile gifts in December will go to Pueblo de Dios, our neighboring congregation which is very much in need of support. Recently Pastor Jim Friedrich sent the following letter to area congregations:

“As I mentioned at October’s First Tuesday Gathering, I want to encourage you to do what you can to support the important ministry at Pueblo de Dios.

Background: I have worked closely with Pastor Leon over the years and keep a close eye on their finances. I am confident that they are doing a good job of managing their financial resources but they simply aren’t able to generate all the funding they need at this point. Here are some important facts:

1. Since they began, they have lived within their budgets and have increased the amount of support provided by their members.
2. They have no reserves to help them with cash flow and often struggle to meet their obligations.
3. They have a good base of support from other tenants using space at the church (about $40k per year) and from the ELCA. The ELCA’s support will continue next year at the current level of $20,000.
4. We are looking at possibilities (especially through the Synod) for paying off their mortgage which would free important resources for their ministry. They have $103,000 remaining on the loan but the interest rate is fairly low and refinancing is not an option.
5. The congregation continues to grow and they have good attendance at worship. Many members are themselves struggling with the weak economy and aren’t able to give much more to the church.
6. The congregation is a vital force in their community, well recognized by the city of San Jose and local neighborhood groups.
7. The congregation does have the potential of being independent as they grow in size and mature in the ministries they can sustain. Pueblo de Dios is an important partner in our church’s desire to be more diverse. They serve populations that our existing congregations have difficulty reaching.

My hope is that you will take this appeal to your Councils or leadership teams and see if you can send $300 or more to Pueblo de Dios before the end of the year. If we can all do a little bit, I’m sure it will help them to weather these hard times. Please contact me if you want additional information or perspective.”

Adapted from the ELCA website

The shortage of affordable housing in Jerusalem is a key factor contributing to the departure of many Palestinians from the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem. Increasing demolition of Palestinian homes and revocation of residency rights as well as the dramatic increase in Israeli settlement building in East Jerusalem are making it very difficult for Palestinians to find affordable housing in Jerusalem.

We are especially concerned about Christians, since they are becoming such a minority in Jerusalem. Since 1946, the Christian population in Jerusalem has decreased from 30,000 to less than 10,000. In a few decades, if the housing shortage and other difficulties continue, there could be no Palestinian Christians living in the Holy City, according to the Right Reverend Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), and President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

In an effort to address this crisis, the ELCJHL, the LWF, and the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Foundation have teamed up to build the Mt. of Olives Housing Project. Through the construction of 84 apartments on the LWF property, organizers hope to help Palestinians who, without an affordable housing option, would be forced to leave the city.

These housing units will be located near Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives property of the LWF. The units will be different sizes and leased to couples, families and singles (there are more and more elderly people who have no one left to care for them) at subsidized rates, providing an affordable housing solution within Jerusalem. This solution will enable many Palestinian Jerusalemites to maintain their Jerusalem residency and keep the right to work and live in Jerusalem and to move freely within its boundaries. Jerusalemites also receive health care and pensions that are critical to maintaining family life. Without adequate housing, these families are being forced to leave the city of their heritage and to relinquish their rights.

When completed, this project will not only offer hope to many Christian Palestinian families, but will also be a visible reminder to every Jerusalemite that there is hope for a lasting peace.

If you wish to donate in support of the Mt. of Olives Housing Project for this month’s Second Mile Giving, look for the striped basket after worship or contact Chelsea M.

Founded in 1959 and located in Thousand Oaks (an hour north of Los Angeles), Cal Lutheran is one of only two ELCA institutions of higher learning west of Texas. CLU offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management and Graduate School of Education. Thirty-six undergraduate majors and 31 minors are offered in addition to an accelerated degree evening program for adults. Graduate programs include doctorates in educational leadership, higher education leadership and clinical psychology. Master’s degrees are offered in education, economics, psychology, computer science, business administration, public policy and administration, and information systems and technology.

It is a lovely campus that hosts over 2500 undergraduates and almost 1400 graduate students taught by a faculty of 154 full time and 202 part time staff. US News and World Report has consistently ranked CLU among the top 20 of regional universities in the West -- this year at number 18. Those of you who remember Pastor Tim may remember he was a CLU graduate.

Yet it is not cheap to provide a high quality education these days. CLU receives virtually no funding from the Synod, but relies on tuition and the gifts of those who appreciate the value of Lutheran higher education in today's world. This month, please consider supporting our local Lutheran university.

When disaster strikes in your community, the local Lutherans are the first form of Lutheran Disaster Response. Every time Lutherans act in service to their neighbors in need following a disaster, they are being Lutheran Disaster Response. Lutheran Disaster Response is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS). We seek to demonstrate Christ's compassion for all people by promoting hope, healing, and wholeness for disaster survivors.

As a people who believe in God, we all have spiritual needs. If you understand yourself to be a sexual minority, you want to be a Christian without having to hide who you really are, but also find your Christian values are not always accepted in the gay community. If you are heterosexual, your experiences may have shown that some people you love have gone through great pain because of who they are in relation to the church.

We are all wonderfully created in the image our God. Regardless of our sexual orientation, we are all part of the full spectrum of God's human creation, a rainbow of diversity. Sexuality is a gift from our creator, not a choice we consciously make. Rather, a choice is the decision of how we express who we are. As Christians we believe we are empowered to be a model of the Gospel, loving our fellow human beings and promoting justice for all. All too often, churches have used scripture to condemn people for many things including their God-given nature. Even Lutheran churches, which emphasize grace, have been quick to judge. Lutherans Concerned helps people reconcile their spirituality and sexuality in an uplifting way. We seek to minister to people who the institutional church often shuns. We also seek to lead the church to live the Gospel to the fullest, affirming sexual diversity, as we all grow in faith and understanding of God's grace. We believe that God values and embraces each person as a beloved child, that the Spirit gives a diversity of gifts for the common good, and that Jesus Christ calls us to work for justice. The ministries of Lutherans Concerned / North America (LC/NA) embody, inspire, and support the acceptance and full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, their families, friends and allies, within the Lutheran communion and its ecumenical and global partners.

Through our Reconciling in Christ Program, ministries, resources, events and alliances, LC/NA: builds community for worship, education and support; fosters welcome and acceptance in all Lutheran settings; advocates for the ecclesial changes necessary to ensure full participation in all rites, sacraments, and ministries of the Church; and invites all people into Gospel lives of authenticity, integrity and wholeness.

The San Francisco Night Ministry provides middle-of-the-night compassionate non-judgmental pastoral care, counseling, referral and crisis intervention to anyone in any kind of distress. Through our Crisis Telephone Line staffed by trained volunteer Crisis Line Counselors; and through person-to-person encounters with ordained clergy on the streets, this ministry is available every night of the year from 10:00 pm - 4:00 am.

In 2008, Crisis Line Counselors answered nearly 5000 phone calls from around the Bay Area and Night Ministers engaged in nearly 9000 significant conversations. For San Francisco, this is a ministry as urgently needed as it is challenging.

When requested, the Night Minister will meet anyone, in person, anywhere in San Francisco. Occasionally other agencies will ask the Night Minister to provide transportation for a battered person to a hospital or shelter. Calls to our Crisis Line come from the entire Bay Area and beyond.

All persons are eligible for assistance regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, life style, social or economic status, religion or no religion. Night Ministry does not give out money, but tries to help in other ways. Food bars and bottles of water are always available for distribution. Occasionally other items that have been donated to us can be distributed. These generally include socks, coats, blankets, sleeping bags, rain gear, hats, gloves and scarves.

In addition to making referrals, Night Ministry accepts referrals from other helping agencies such as Suicide Prevention and WOMEN Inc. We are a listed agency with United Way’s HelpLink and 211 services, and 311 Information service, among others.

Night Ministry also provides an open-air worship service which includes preaching, praying, singing and Holy Communion each Sunday at 2:00 PM at Leavenworth @ McAllister near United Nations Plaza. Everyone and anyone is welcome. We gather together, we worship God, we honor each other.

LOPP

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy is a vehicle for public policy education and advocacy in matters of hunger and economic justice, the health and integrity of God’s creation, and human rights and human dignity. It serves the California expressions of the ELCA as they seek to express God’s love and care for our neighbors—especially the “least of these”—who experience poverty, deprivation, and discrimination.

Priority areas include the state budget for health and human services (state safety net in health, food assistance, child care and protection, etc), including revenue options; budget and governance reform which moves state government away from the gridlock and partisanship which have harmed low-income people and led to broad distrust in government; and care for God’s creation (especially climate change).

LAMN

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Nevada seeks to:

• Interpret Lutheran positions on certain public issues to the Nevada Legislature, and work to influence legislative action on these issues.
• Provide members of the Nevada Legislature with facts about how poverty and injustice affect the citizens of Nevada.
• Assist individual Lutherans to become more informed and active on issues of social justice.
• Identify issues that ought to be addressed but for which there is no current law or legislative proponent.
• Unite with other Christian denominations seeking common goals, to better help th poor and least among us.

Our mission: igniting passionate faith, equipping servant leaders, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mt. Cross's constituency is comprised of over 400 Lutheran Churches in California, Nevada & Hawaii.

Mt. Cross is open year-round for retreat groups & other programmed events.

Each summer, Mt. Cross hires 40-50 college age students to work on the staff to provide programming for summer camp programs. In doing this we provide valuable leadership & training experiences to potential clergy, youth workers & outdoor ministry professionals.

The 2nd Mile Giving for April is designated for our seminary in Berkeley, the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary or PLTS. The average annual financial need of a PLTS Seminarian is $27,676. Congregational gifts help make seminary affordable for future church leaders. PLTS was founded in 1950 and is the only Lutheran seminary in the western half of the United States. Some other interesting facts about PLTS:

• Phyllis Anderson, the seminary president, is the first female president of PLTS and of an ELCA seminary.
• Students receive four orienting perspectives guiding education include: Lutheran Identity, Multiculturalism, Public Sphere, and Religious Pluralism.
• 77% of PLTS students are studying to be pastors.
• The student population is nearly balanced with women and men.
• An equal numbers of students are recent college graduates and 2nd career students.
• The T.E.E.M. (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) program has grown from 19 to 64 students in the last six years.

Lutheran Social Services is one of my favorites among all the ministries in our synod. We here in San Jose do not hear often enough about their amazing ministry, because their services are centered more in Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland. Here is a brief overview:

• Permanent Supportive Housing: Previously homeless families and individuals with disabilities receive ongoing services to maintain life stability.
• Money Management for Housing Stability: LSS works to prevent chronic homelessness among low-income residents of San Francisco with mental and physical disabilities.
• Transitional and Supported Housing for former foster and transition age youth: Former foster youth have no place to go when they turn 18. LSS provides the support and love they need to become self-sufficient adults.
• Transitional Housing and Support for Homeless Women and Children Serving formerly homeless women in recovery from substance abuse, survivors of domestic violence, and women and children in recovery from abuse.
• Community Services: Supportive services for vulnerable communities when needs are identified.
• Disaster Response and Relief: Assist those whose lives have been disrupted by disasters (Northern California Affiliate for Lutheran Disaster Response; Disaster Preparedness Planning Services; Hurricane Katrina Recovery Mission; South Lake Tahoe/Angora Fire Relief; Fernley Flooding Relief; Santa Cruz/Summit Fire Relief)

How you can help: You can support Lutheran Social Services through your contribution to February’s 2nd Mile Giving Plan.